Trans-Tasman Test Series

Test series against Australia have been played regularly between masters teams since 1984, and also occasionally by junior teams. The next Trans-Tasman masters test series is 2015, in New Zealand.

The biennial Masters Trans-Tasman Test Series will be played 13-15 October 2015, preceding the NZ Masters Championships. It will be hosted by Hawkes Bay SRC, with assistance from Hawkes Bay Lawn Tennis Club.

For a full list of records since the Trans-Tasman series began, Click here.

TRANS TASMAN TEST SERIES 2013

(An excert from the Squash New Zealand Annual Report Written by Wayne Seebeck)

The location was Canberra and the test series coincided with the 100 year centenary of Australia’s Capital.

The Australian Manager, Garry Irwin, assisted our Manager, Kaye Jackson with airport pick-up and drop-offs to ensure smooth transition for the players arriving from various cities in New Zealand and the camaraderie between the teams began here and continued throughout the ten days.

We arrived on the Thursday, had a team bonding that evening which included our Australian counterparts in a varsaity restaurant and on Friday morning headed to the Woden Squash Centre for a practice. This was a good facility to host the tests although a change in format to using three courts at once instead of the normal two was to the detriment of available player support and also removed part of the enjoyment of being able to watch more of the matches.

The first test was a tough battle with Australia having heavy firepower in more positions than New Zealand and although we lost 8-4 with potential for reversal of some results, it was an ominous sign that our opponents won all their matches bar one in three sets (although this did not detract from the massive effort put in by all players).

However manager Kaye and the team were upbeat about our potential for the Sunday second test and so it came to pass with two good reversals by the over 60s, however that was countered by an Australian reversal, resulting in a 7-5 loss.

The third test had a new reversal each way to finish with another 7-5 loss, which illustrated that there was little between most of the players except for the three world class Australians whose results were fairly one sided.

Our hosts were gracious in victory and although it was tough for Kaye to hand over the Vic Belsham Trophy she carried out the task with aplomb.

Of the team and Kiwi support crew, Karen Walton, Becky Clarke, Laurie Skurr, Mark Waldin and Rod Bannister became Australian Champions and Freddie Walker, Wayne Seebeck and Mickayla Kerr were runners-up.